Editorial: Parking fees unfair to students

As many football fans discovered this past weekend, University officials have found a new way to charge for parking on campus. Under a new policy initiated this past weekend, there is now a $5 fee to park in the Blue Zone for football and basketball games, which, officials say, will cover the cost of extra police officers and traffic-direction workers hired to expedite the parking process. While making parking easier is a noble goal, students should not be charged additional fees beyond what they already pay for Blue Zone passes.

  Transportation officials insist that the fee is in no way associated with revenue and is devoted 100 percent to cost-recovery for the extra workers. However, students who have already purchased a Blue Zone permit have spent hundreds of dollars for the right to park, and they should not be required to repurchase this right. In addition, the fee only applies to students and non-University patrons--faculty and employees who already have campus passes are not subject to the $5 fee. If one group of permit-holders is required to pay, everyone should pay.

 Further, the University should make an effort to make alternative parking available for those students who must move their cars during game days, as many students must stowe their vehicles in Durham itself, on back-roads or other unsafe locations.